I’m happily pitter-patting along on the Northern Tour, finally getting acceptable word-counts as I sink into the world of my characters and their various dilemmas (oh yes, and caffeine helps). This year, all new works started in November go into the word count bucket. My colleague Becca Patterson aka Mreauow has set herself the goal of two complete novels, and she has a demanding day job. So in the interests of being a Real Writer, I’m doing at least that, with additional work on new non-fiction projects. Alongside, I’ll be working on my “day job” of editing and preparing finished work for publication.

Your Mom’s Basement White Bear Lake, Minnesota USA

Stochastic decision making devices, reasonably priced.

Now we’re at Your Mom’s Basement, a gaming cafe in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. It’s a writer-friendly venue, and they also sell those wonderful dice with 12 and 20 faces (well, other shapes too) in case you need to randomly generate things without having to use your computer. Thanks to the positive peer pressure and my awesome NaNo 2014 playlist, I’m bopping along making all kinds of dramatic conflict.

So, without further ado — the excerpt!

From Romance with Rayguns (untitled NaNo 2014 WIP):

On the walk back to the guest-house, Hernan took Timur aside. “Family duty,” he said.

“Am I to stay away from your cousin, then?”

“Oh no, they were all quite gratified that you got on so well. But she’s only interested in girls, that way, anyhow.”

Timur laughed. “Well, if I were interested in either that way, that might be heartbreaking.” He added, “She’s really remarkable. Not at all my picture of an Astok.”

“Probably the only thing you have in common with Tikhon’s clan-patron, then. She wasn’t his picture of an Astok, either.”

“You can’t say something like that without telling me the story, you know.”

“Well, the story is that she fell in love with a Sarronny cadet, or vice versa, turned down all sorts of brilliant alliance-offers, turned down some sort of political offer from Temn, refused a Captaincy and went off to the Archaeological Institute instead. Lost all her clan-status — well, they refused to honor it, which is the same thing — and went her own way regardless, because her clan-patron’s spouse is an Iskra.”

“So you’re not the only rogue aristo.”

“Oh, far from. But I’m a nobody. Martisset has scope.”

And now, back to the word-mines!